Can't Hate You
by sakuratyan
Summary: Sakura had pride. But there's one moment in her life that she isn't proud of at all. SasuSaku, SasukexSakura, Sasuke/Sakura
1. Wind

**A/N**: Rewritten and edited now! A gift fic for my friend that I guess will end up being multi-chaptered since I thought of a pretty neat idea! First fic in a while, hopefully I'll be able to develop on this since I have a bit of a concept in my head. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated!

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_**Can't Hate You**_

_Sakura had pride. But there's one moment in her life that she isn't proud of at all._

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**Chapter 1 - Wind**

Sakura had pride. She knew she was strong and she cared about her looks. She was one of the best aspiring ninja medics in her generation, taught by one of the best of all time. She wouldn't let something as little as boy problems get in the way of the reputation she's built up over the years.

But on days like today, maybe that isn't so true. The sky is dark and the stars are shining clearly. The breeze doesn't disturb the natural beauty of the Leaf Village with annoying sounds. It's only slightly chilly, but otherwise it's absolutely perfect.

Sakura used to love nights like these. She would look up at the sky from the window in her room and think about her future- what she'd be, who her friends will be, who she'll marry... A night like this used to harbor such beautiful thoughts for young Sakura. But that was long ago, before the harsh reality of the world hit her.

Now she looks up at the beautiful sky with disdain.

With hatred_._

With regret and remorse_._

_With the greatest longing for that short feeling of warmth she received on that night long ago._

But that's ancient history, she supposes. Something she hates to admit caring about. Someone she hates to admit caring about. _Sasuke Uchiha_.

On this beautiful night, Sakura doesn't go out celebrating with her friends for another mission completed and another encounter with their own demise avoided. She stays home, telling her best friend that she's "clocking out for the night." Avoiding Naruto's disappointed sighs, she slips out of the group's circle. She goes home to an empty apartment and makes her way to her room to be alone. She's just not in the mood to party tonight. Too much on her mind. Something clogging up her thoughts... or _someone_. Tonight is a special night, after all. It's that time of the year again...

Her thoughts are interrupted as a knock sounds on her door. "Damn it," she groans.

She pulls open the front door to find her team's captain, looking nervous and slightly saddened by the antisocial mess in front of him. "You alright, Sakura?"

Her lips curve upward into an attempt at a smile. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Yamato wasn't at all convinced. "Look, I know you were a bit off your game today. You missed a step and your hits were weak-"  
"And...?"

The look on his face turned into a concerned one. Sakura's bitter reply wasn't unusual, but she had always tried to mind her attitude around him. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. Did something always have to be wrong when she wasn't the sickeningly optimistic girl people think she is? She didn't want to be known that way anymore.

The night struck in silence for a few moments. Yamato caught eye contact with Sakura and his expression immediately softened. But this wasn't the Sakura he knew. She was clearly upset, and in denial.

It's not until a few seconds that Sakura breaks eye contact and speaks up. "I'm sorry... Why don't you come in?"

"I just want to make sure you're okay," he responds.

Her lips curve upward again into a more reassuring smile, although her eyes don't follow suit.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asks. She quickly gestures him inside and he follows her invitation.

They both take a seat on the couch. Sakura inhales deeply before saying, "Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? You know, change something that happened?"

His eyebrow raises at the obscure question. "Well, not necessarily..." For some reason, the thought of time travel makes him uneasy and he doesn't want anything to do with it. But Sakura wants a proper answer- he could tell by just looking into her eyes. "The concept of time travel is tricky, Sakura. You never know what you're going to change, and you won't know if it's for the better or for the worst until it's too late to do a thing about it."

"But what if it was to stop a friend from becoming an enemy?"

"Ah," he finally understood what she was talking about. "Still thinking about that one night?"

She nods and looks down into her lap. It had been a while since they had a talk about him, but then again no one in the village really ever wanted to talk about it. Those who did would either slander his name or cry at the first syllable.

Yamato exhales with a breath he didn't realize he was keeping in. "Well, think about it this way: if that didn't happen, I'd have never been able to meet you. Sai would still be stuck in Root. You probably would have never earned the title of best rookie ninja medic of your generation."

With those points, Sakura definitely agrees. She's glad to have met the new additions to Team Kakashi and her life has been greatly impacted just because of that one single event that began the chain of fortune (and misfortune...) she's had. But still... "I just want to know what it's like."

"To?"

"To have Sasuke back here. To not have him be an S-class ninja that has sworn his vengeance on the entire Leaf Village. And if I can't have that, I at least want to know if what I said that night impacted him at all."

"I bet your words impacted him more than anyone's could have. I'm not just saying that, either. It's not easy having your friend become someone you're supposed to hate, but-"

They hear a noise outside and turn around, only to see the open window with a view of the rustling leaves of a summer tree. Must be the strong winds, they conclude, or a very large cat, which is highly unlikely since a cat of any size would only make a fourth of whatever noise they heard.

"-but that's just how it is when you're a shinobi."

Sakura leans back and stares up at the ceiling as the leaves rustle continuously outside. "Well, taichou, the funny thing is that I still don't hate him. I can't seem to hate Sasuke at all. Then again, maybe it's because I've been hopelessly in love with him since our years in the ninja academy."

Yamato laughs at her last remark, which Sakura is glad for. The moment's tension was eased so seamlessly. "Thank you, taichou," she says as he stands up.

"For what?" he asks before opening the door.

"For talking to me about this. Thank you."

Yamato opens the door and the leaves, once again, move and make that annoying sound. He takes a few steps before stopping dead in his tracks.

The night is silent.

There is no wind.


	2. Closer

**A/N**: Sorry this is a bit rushed and wordy, I'm working through this a bit too fast.

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**Chapter 2 – Closer**

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Night had fallen far too quickly. To think that just a few hours ago, Yamato was out having fun and drinking lightly with his friends after coming back from a dangerous mission. Now, to make things worse, he has to worry about Sakura.

Where did the wind go? Does wind just come and go like that? He didn't think so, but then again he was no meteorologist. As far as he knew, though, wind doesn't come in one strong gust and then suddenly leave the night silent. At least, not with any wind he's ever come into contact with.

And anyway, does wind really not blow away the pile of leaves that had piled under the tree in her front yard?

Yamato took a deep breath and made his way onto her roof. He peered into her backyard, trying to find anything unusual. But now there was nothing. No movement whatsoever. He checked for wind, but there was none either. Just the humid night air of a summer in the Leaf Village.

"What the hell?" he asks himself, not quite understanding the situation.

Maybe it was nothing, he convinces himself. All that he really knew was that he was tired and didn't have enough energy to search out something that could potentially be nothing at all. Besides, not only was Sakura a smart and cunning kunoichi, but it wasn't like she had anyone that had it out for her. Nor did she have any stalkers, or at least none that he was aware of. As far as he was concerned, Sakura was perfectly fine.

As Yamato left, Sakura slowly makes her way to her own room. Lying down in her bed, she wraps herself in her blanket and sighs deeply into her pillow. She closes her eyes and falls deeper and deeper into sleep.

The leaves rustle in her back yard once again. Then there was silence as a dark figure appeared in Sakura's little room. His face was revealed by only the slightest rays of moonlight, but his bright red eyes shined through the darkness. He looks down at Sakura lying in bed and his expression softens. Slowly, his eyes revert to a deep black and the stranger kneels down beside Sakura's bed.

The way he looked at her was extremely affectionate and loving. His warm hands stroked her cheeks and pushed the hair away from her face. The smirk on his face became a genuine smile that beamed down on the girl like sunshine. He whispered her name softly, his deep voice sounding like black keys on a piano.

Sakura's eyes open drowsily, half-asleep. She looks up at the man beside her and smiles softly. The motion, the sweetness, was so uncharacteristic of him. She knows who he is though, there's no way she could ever mistake that silhouette for anybody else's. "Sasuke?" she calls out.

The man was taken aback by her awakening. But he smiles back down at her and traces his fingers around her face, from her cheeks to her chin. His touch was soft and gentle and warm. "It's been a while."

"One year," Sakura replies tiredly. "You tried to kill me last time."

His smile fades. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

"How?"

He pauses for a second... "I don't know. But I will."

Sakura was somewhat disappointed. This wasn't the Sasuke Uchiha she had come to know in her time in the academy and as a part of Team Seven. He was the complete opposite of what he used to be. He was gentle and kind as opposed to scornful and realistic. He touched her with affection rather than angst. It was so unlike Sasuke that she knew she must have been dreaming; there's no way that Sasuke would treat her, or anyone, like that. But not even in her sweetest dreams has he ever seemed so real.

She wanted to believe him, but she knew she would end up crying when she finally woke up from this sweet imagining. "Stay with me," she requests sleepily.

Sasuke looked at her sadly. "I can't."

He waited a while for a response before realizing she had gone back to sleep. He looks down at her remorsefully before pulling a small box from his pocket. Placing it on her bedside table, he kisses her forehead and slowly backs out of her room. He promised to himself that he would be back again.

With a final look at the little black box beside the picture of Team Seven that she's kept for almost six years, he jumps out the window and toward the edge of the village, running away from the place he once called home.

Sakura stirs in her bed for a moment before wrapping herself snugly in her blanket, sleeping with a smile. She didn't quite know why she had that beautiful dream of hers, but she was glad she did.

The next morning, Sakura wakes up with the same feeling of longing she felt the night before. The desperate need for that warmth that she only felt for a few moments on that night from five years ago. There was nothing she wanted more than to pull back that dream she had that night and have it become a reality.

But she knew that was quite impossible. She pushed herself off her bed and sighed. Dragging herself out of her room, Sakura pushed her hair back and yawned. She prepares a cup of tea and leans onto the counter, her shoulders slumped and her eyes inattentive and filled with disappointment.

Was that really what her life resorted to now, dreaming of things when all she wanted to do was forget?

Still, she couldn't shake off what seemed to be reality. That dream seemed realer than it should have, despite Sakura being so deep into her own state of sleep that she couldn't have possibly actually woken up. And besides, her dream was unrealistic anyway. Would the angsty rogue ninja Sasuke Uchiha ever caress her face so gently? So maybe he would kiss her on the forehead, she concludes as she recalled that time back when they first started out as ninjas and he said words she only ever dreamed of him saying. And of course he would leave while Sakura was defenseless, like that time five years ago when she was left unconscious near the outskirts of the village. But that didn't mean he would ever talk to her the way he did in her dream, or touch her the way he had. It was too uncharacteristic of him.

But as uncharacteristic as it was, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she still liked it. She wanted nothing more than to be conscious in that dream and not just lying asleep in bed. Alas, that wouldn't be possible even if she wished on a million shooting stars.

Her thoughts were interrupted and the momentary happiness she had felt as she recalled her dream faded away as a loud knock sounds on her door. Sakura groans as the knocking continues.

"It's time to stop moping around, forehead girl!" yells a familiar voice from the other side. "I'm going to knock down this door if you don't get off your ass and open it yourself in the next minute!"

"You have a key to my house, Ino!" she yells back. "Don't you _dare_ break down my door!"

Ino pushes the door with ease, slightly laughing. "I left my key at home. It doesn't matter though, you didn't lock the door."

Sakura rolls her eyes as she sips on her tea. Was that really something to laugh at, somebody leaving their house unlocked and pretty much open to any intruders who may want to sneak in? Whatever, she thought. Ino was a bit of a sadistic mystery at times.

"We're gonna go shopping today, so get dressed!"

Sakura refused to move from her position. Grabbing her by the wrist, Ino gently pulls her away from her spot and leads her into her bedroom. A bit of a motivation, she was hoping. After all, it pained her to see her best friend in such a wreck when everybody else was having fun. And she did feel a bit bad since she was one of those people having fun anyway. Ino sits down on Sakura's bed, looking down at her bedside table. "God, Sakura, it's like you're still thirteen. You're not even in the same house anymore, change your room up will you?"

She runs her fingers over the familiar things on Sakura's table: the old Leaf Village headband metal plate that had so many scratches from all those difficult missions Sakura endured, the scented candles she liked to light whenever they had sleepovers, the old picture of Team Kakashi from before Sasuke left... There was only one thing that Ino hadn't been able to recognize, something she definitely didn't see when her and Sakura left for their last mission. A small box stood in front of the picture, and Ino's natural curiosity pushes her hands to reach for it. "Did someone visit last night?"

Sorting through the clothes in her closet to find something to wear, Sakura nods her head. "Yamato-taichou came by to talk to me about something."

"Mhm," replies Ino. "What about?" Her hands slowly open the box and she peers inside, noticing a glint of light shining through.

"Uh, if you don't mind, Ino, I'd rather not say specifically what it was we talked about. He just cheered me up, is all."

"Interesting..." She nosily opens up the box more and jumps back in shock. Immediately, she closes the box and puts it back on Sakura's bedside table. But she couldn't get the image out of her head... the pretty image of the box's contents sat still in her mind.

Sakura notices the shift in atmosphere and turns around, only to find her best friend smiling like an idiot. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ino replies calmly. But despite that calm response, she couldn't help but look back at the nightstand for a brief moment.

Sakura catches her glance and makes her way toward her bedside table, noticing something that wasn't there before. She picks up the box and admires it, noticing how it looked elegantly hand-crafted (although Ino would disagree). "What's this?" she asks to nobody in particular as she opens the lid of the box. In it, she finds a beautiful silver ring that was like nothing she'd ever seen before. The band looked like a branch wrapping around and the setting was what looked like silver cherry blossoms holding small diamond-like jewels. It was the most darling thing she had ever encountered, unlike anything else she had seen.

More than anything, the contents of the box reminded her of her first days as a ninja with her friends and team. The good days, where she would daydream and fantasize about the future and being married to the perfect guy for her. The days where she would talk about everything, right down to what kind of jewelry she would love to own by the time she turned eighteen. And there it was, right in front of her. The most perfect thing that possibly only somebody in her team (plus Ino, who knew most of Sakura's dreams and secrets anyway) could remember about.

She shuts the box closed and quickly makes her way to her closet to throw on a change of clothes. "Let's go, Ino, I have to run a quick errand first."


	3. Lovers

**A/N**: Sorry for another author's note, but I just want to say that I'm sorry that a lot of this seems irrelevant but I swear I'm getting somewhere with this. There's a reason to my madness.

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**Chapter 3 – Lovers**

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"I can't accept this."

"Huh?" Yamato turns around and looks at his teammate with confusion. "Can't accept what?"

Sakura pulls the box from her pocket and holds it out in front of him. "This. It's beautiful and I appreciate the thought, but I just can't accept something that must've cost you a fortune."

He looks back at her with even more confusion. The little box in her hand was not in any way familiar to him. Hell, he would have remembered getting her something expensive. He would've remembered _anything_ he bought for her, cheap or expensive. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on!" she said, raising her voice. "Mr. 'Tenzou of the Wood Release Jutsu', I'd recognize this craftsmanship anywhere."

"Okay, let me see it!" Sakura hands Yamato the box and lets him examine its contents and watches as his lips curve upward into an amused smile. It was a really beautiful ring, and he wishes he would've thought of the design himself. But the box it was held in was nothing in comparison to his own handiwork; his designs were far more intricate than a box that looks like it was put together perfectly at the beginning then clumsily carved at the end. To even have Sakura say that she recognized the craftsmanship that wasn't even his could've been taken as an insult if he hadn't already known that she never had much of an eye for detail.

Sakura tapped her fingers impatiently. "So...?"

Yamato laughs and cocks his head. "The only way this could ever be from me is if I either was really fucking drunk or I am somehow experiencing lacunar amnesia. And anyway, this isn't my work." He takes the lid off the box and shows its contents to her again, smiling. "It's a really nice ring and would look good on your finger though."

She smirks. "Yamato-taichou, is this you telling me that I should wear jewelry that just mysteriously appears in my room?"

"Well, no, but it looks like it was made for you. Who better to wear a cherry blossom ring than Miss Sakura Haruno?"

"Hm..." Yamato had a point there, Sakura knew. She takes the ring from its place and slips it onto her right ring finger.

It fit perfectly. And god, did it look gorgeous. Light caught onto the gems as if it were entranced by the beauty of the piece. Sakura felt guilty for putting the ring on, but when would she ever get to sport something that nice ever again? She didn't often come across nice jewelry, and it's not like she had a boyfriend to give her those things.

"Don't tell Lady Tsunade I encouraged this."

Ino pushes Sakura forward and Sakura pulls her teammate into a hug, embracing him and secretly thanking him again last night. The two nod their heads, thanking Yamato for his time, and make their way back to Sakura's place. There really wasn't much of a need for a shopping day anymore, considering that Sakura was no longer moping around like a sad kitten. And besides, it wasn't like they actually had money to spend on shopping anyway.

It wasn't until Sakura checked her pockets just three yards away from her own home that she realized she didn't have any keys. "Shit," she cursed. "We're locked out."

"Good job," Ino remarks in reply. "Come on, you must've at least left one window open." She leads her best friend around the house, looking at every possible opening they could crawl through (even the chimney seemed like a good entrance at first glance) and found relief in Sakura's back yard, finding the window to her bedroom wide open. They both jump up together, realizing how easy it could be to sneak in or out.

_Maybe I should close my window more often_, says Sakura to herself as she realizes someone could easily break in or sneak in and do something horrible. Not that anybody would want anything in her tiny little house with a dead flower garden and cheap wooden picture frames (provided by the ever-so-useful stand-in team captain of Team Kakashi) with pictures of her and her best friends, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Yamato sits down in his senpai's apartment, hoping that Kakashi makes coffee better than he prepares tea. He isn't quite sure why he was suddenly invited over, but who was he to turn down an invitation from one of the best people he knew?

Kakashi hands him a cup of what smells more like hot chocolate than coffee and apologizes for not actually knowing how to work the coffee maker he had. "But that's irrelevant. I saw what you did there earlier."

"What?" asks Yamato, leaning back a bit.

"I just want to remind you that being in a relationship with a member of your own team can end up messy. I won't discourage anything, but I don't want to see anyone getting hurt."

"Kakashi-senpai, what are you talking about?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and rested his hand on Yamato's shoulder, frowning through his mask. "Sakura is my precious student, just as you are my precious kouhai. I watched her grow up and pursue a love interest and be completely heartbroken by that love interest not even a year later. It pained me to see her that way and if I ever see her like that because of a boy again I'd have to personally kick his ass—"

"Wait, senpai," Yamato interrupts with chagrin. "Are you saying that you think I'd be someone to hurt Sakura?"

"Just don't break her heart, alright?"

"Why would I break her heart?"

Kakashi sighs. "God, Tenzou, I don't know. Just stay the good guy I've always known you to be and don't be her next Sasuke Uchiha."

"Okay..." He raises his eyebrow at the man and still has no idea what the hell is going on. But it all clicks together when he thinks about those words.

_Don't be her next Sasuke Uchiha_.

_I've been hopelessly in love with him since our years in the ninja academy_.

"Wait, are you telling me Sakura is hopelessly in love with me?"

A face peers over the door of the refrigerator as Kakashi's eyebrow raises high. "Shouldn't you know?"

"Why should I know? That's the kind of thing she'd probably only tell Ino. How do you know?"

"Aren't you two a thing?"

"She's like a little sister to me..."

"Crap..." Kakashi hurries back into his living room and pushes Yamato off the couch, leading him to the door. "I just made a huge ass of myself, just forget what went on here. I am very sorry."

It was really unlike Kakashi to jump to conclusions like that, but anybody could've made that mistake anyway. He probably saw Sakura get the ring from Yamato and that lengthy exchange of thanks in the form of long and warm hugs and assumed what any person might have assumed.

Yamato nearly walks out the door before Kakashi yells out for him to wait. "I suggest you go to Shizune before she gives a daily dose of gossip to Lady Tsunade. She's the one who told me to talk to you about this."

"Will do."

* * *

A knock sounds on the door of the Hokage's office.

"Who is it?" asks a girlish voice as a knock sounds on the door of the Hokage office.

"It's Yamato," he replies. "I have, uh, something to report to you, Lady Tsunade."

The door opens as he is commanded to come in, greeted by a young-looking elderly woman and her assistant, the latter being the one creepily grinning at him. "So," begins Tsunade, "what is it you wanted to report to me?"

He scratches at his head, unsure of what to really say. "Well, I didn't really need to report anything per se... Rather, I need to clear up a misunderstanding. I don't mean any disrespect, Shizune, but I'm fairly sure that you might have gathered some false information."

Tsunade looks up at Shizune. "What?"

"Oh!" interjects Shizune. "I'm sorry, Yamato, I just assumed..."

He gives her a reassuring grin in exchange. "It's fine. It's just not that way though."

"What the hell is going on?" Tsunade demands.

Yamato shrugs his shoulders and grins knowingly. "Well, while I'm here, I might as well actually report something."

The Hokage rolls her eyes and, with a flick of her wrist, tells him to go on with it and just report whatever the hell it is that he wants to report to her.

His mood becomes serious with his expression following suit. "I'm led to believe that there might be suspicious activity happening around Sakura Haruno's home. And by that, I don't mean her neighborhood—I mean her own, physical, personal house."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that something or somebody was hiding in her trees. It was probably either a regular civilian or a shinobi that didn't understand the meaning of stealth because they were being noisy as hell."

Tsunade hummed to his report, as if to say that it were interesting. She writes something down on a slip and hands it over to him. He looks down to examine it, only to find that it's a makeshift mission slip. Mission: Investigate the surroundings of Sakura Haruno's home and become a bodyguard for her. Requirements: Vigilant night-watch over Sakura. Payment: 5,000 ryo from the Hokage's personal account for compensation of the protection of her pupil. "It's not that big of a deal but just make sure Sakura isn't being stalked or anything, alright?"

"She's not going to react kindly over my 'vigilant night watch'," Yamato kindly informs his superior.

"Just show her the slip," she replies informatively. "Sakura's actions aren't always so predictable; what she does may surprise you."

With that, Tsunade sends off Yamato with a wink. Whatever the hell that actually means.

Then again, he reminds himself, she might have just been drinking in the morning again.


	4. I Talked To You For The First Time

A/N: Feeling very iffy about posting SasuSaku things now after I finished playing Ultimate Ninja Impact ;A; Sometimes, especially after Chapter 590, you forget that Sasuke was this asshole who wanted to kill everyone. OTL.

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**Chapter 4 – I Talked To You For The First Time**

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"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Sasuke's eyelids flutter open and his early-morning glare set on a very-rambunctious Suigetsu. The look was deadly, but nothing the team had never faced before. "What do you want?"

Suigetsu backed away and set himself down on the cold, hard floor. "Geez, Sasuke. Going off in the middle of the night to who-knows-where and you act as if nothing happened."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said as an obvious lie.

Team Taka isn't a group of fools. They know a lie when they hear it. And Sasuke was usually so straightforward with things, why would he lie anyway? "Come on, Sasuke," Karin intruded, "We just want to know what happened last night."

"Nothing happened," he said almost convincingly. And they would've been convinced, if they didn't already know that 'nothing' almost always meant 'something interesting'. But they didn't dare pry; Sasuke was scary enough when you weren't trying to get in his business.

The day went on just as it usually went: making their plans on how to travel and infiltrate villages in disguise so they could get more supplies, Karin hitting on Sasuke even though he was so obviously uninterested, Suigetsu polishing and sharpening his sword, and Juugo doing his own thing. But as night fell, their curiosity in Sasuke's whereabouts piqued when the Uchiha snuck out of their camp area and headed south toward the Fire Country.

Now, what was he going to do there?

They didn't bother trailing him; Sasuke was a master, after all. He'd recognize their amateur steps from miles away. Luckily, they had nature on their side. Juugo's communing skills always came in handy when they were curious, so he sent a small bird out to follow their leader.

The avian stalked Sasuke for what seemed to be hours, until he finally reached Konoha. He snuck into the village unnoticed, even passing the vigilant night-guards with the signature stealth that the Uchiha ninjas were known to possess. It wasn't until he landed at the back yard of a house near the outskirts of the village that he began to actually make noise. He jumped onto the branch of a sturdy tree and let the leaves rustle and fall and abandoning his previous stealth.

Sasuke jumped through an open window and the bird watched as he knelt down beside a bed. A girl's bed? Yes, he concludes as he flies closer and notes the girl's figure. Her torso was left uncovered by a blanket and her shirt rested messily over her chest. And anyway, if it weren't a girl, he'd feel mighty sorry for the boy with pastel pink hair. Was that his target? No, he would never show any enemy or target of his that gentle grace and soft touch. So was she his girlfriend? Who could tell, especially when the girl was sleeping?

The little bird figured he had gathered enough intel and makes his way back to the Taka camp to report his findings back to the team. But nothing they could understand was of value to them.

Sasuke lingers in the Leaf Village. He gently wakes up Sakura for the first time since he began making trips back to his home village and smiled at her as she gently rose up from her slumber. He whispers her name, watching as she looks up dreamily at him. "Oh, I'm having that dream again," she says sleepily. "Can I not wake up this time?"

The truth hits her as he places his hand in hers and realizes that it feels completely real. This was no dream where Sasuke Uchiha came back; Sasuke Uchiha _did_ come back. "Huh?" she asks in confusion.

At that moment, nothing made sense. Sakura was being visited by the boy who left over five years ago—the same boy who would also refuse to acknowledge her existence. Sasuke was somehow back in the village. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting the one and only pink-haired kunoichi I know," he replies with a certain charm in his voice. "Why, are you not glad to see me?"

Sakura's expression softens and her body shifts to leave her sitting upright. "Sasuke..." She just cannot believe he was there. Why now, after five years of Sakura training just so she could fight her way into getting him to come back? Why her, the girl he never bothered being kind to? What the hell is up with that?

Her hand meets his face as she slaps him, actually unaware of what she was doing. It was all instinct, she knew. Sakura didn't mean to hit Sasuke, but she did. Her nails—which were still left uncut after that long mission— had grazed his cheek and left a bleeding scratch.

Sasuke was shocked—after all, this was not the reaction he expected to get when he first saw a conscious Sakura.

"Oh my gosh, Sasuke, I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "I'm so, so, so sorry, I didn't mean to do that!" Sakura jumped out of her bed to get her emergency medical kit, apologizing profusely for what had happened. But Sasuke did not move at all; the situation had not registered in his mind. So he sat still as Sakura gently cleaned the wound and healed it with her medical ninjutsu.

It wasn't until after he felt the warmth of her healing powers on his face that he snapped back into reality. He looked at her remorsefully, though. "You still hate me, don't you?"

Her head shakes. "No, it's not that... I've—I've never hated you."

"But why? When I've done so many horrible things..."

Her mind wanders back to her conversation with Yamato._ I can't seem to hate Sasuke at all. Then again, maybe it's because I've been hopelessly in love with him since our years in the ninja academy._

She doesn't say a word as he patiently waits for a response. As an alternative, she impulsively kisses him. When their lips part, they both look away in embarrassment. But a smirk graces his expression as he looks out her window.

The moment is brief as he realizes the sun was rising. He stands up in an unnoticeable panic and activates his sharingan, trying to make eye contact with her.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" she asks, refusing to look him in the eye lest she be put under a genjutsu or, if his Mangekyou was anything like Kakashi-sensei's, thrown into another world.

"Just look at me, Sakura," he replies. "_Please_."

She gave up and sighed, making eye contact with him as he places her under a genjutsu. Her pupils contract for a moment before she closes her eyes and is rendered unconscious on her bed, only to remember this night as a horribly realistic dream. He says his final goodbye to the sleeping kunoichi and heads back to his team.

_One day_, he promises himself. _One day, he'll come back to the village. _Not as a coward who can only come in during the night, but as a surrendered enemy who only wants to make peace with the place he once called home.

_One day_.

The Sasuke everyone knew and loathed or tolerated (or fangirled obsessively over) returned the moment he headed back out into the forest. He was a completely different person after leaving Konoha. It was as if Sakura had the same effect on him that his family once had. After all, he couldn't help but be a completely different person around anybody he loved.

The rest of Team Taka continued to poke and prod Sasuke for an answer. After all, they thought they deserved to know where he had been and what he had really been doing. But, like always, he refused to let them in. That _was_ the Sasuke Uchiha they knew: the exclusive bastard that refused to be an emotional wreck like every other human being. Although, that may have been why they trusted Sasuke so much as a leader: he didn't let his fears get the best of him, and he never breaks.

In Konoha, there was not a thing in the village that could keep the confused Sakura's mind off of Sasuke Uchiha. As she absentmindedly walked through the Hidden Leaf, she somehow found her way to the abandoned Uchiha residence, which was now fairly broken down from years without attentive care and usage. Her memories of being a student in the academy were pulled forth as she recalls Iruka choosing her to drop off assignments to Sasuke on the first and only day he ever skipped class. His young, innocent image was still fresh in her mind. She remembers his mother—Mikoto, was it?—pushing him forward and telling him to thank 'his cute little friend'. The moment they were face to face, he embarrassedly said his thanks and smiled awkwardly as he walked backward to his mother.

She gathered her thoughts and tried to get away as fast as possible and push the thought of Sasuke out of her mind, only to find herself at the training grounds that Team 7 had their first test at. She lingers for a moment, admiring the epitaph and cringing at the rest of the field. Her hand tightens into a fist as she remembers the first time she had ever seen a genjutsu firsthand. But her grip loosens as she recalls the first time that her, Naruto, and Sasuke had tried to work as a team. As Sakura's lips curve upward into a smile, she realizes she is still thinking of Sasuke and hurriedly walks away.

To make matters worse, Sakura is reminded of the rogue ninja as she steps into work. The moment she walks into Tsunade's office is the very same moment Tsunade and Shizune are discussing the intel they have on Sasuke Uchiha's wherabouts. His team loitered just outside the Fire Nation, apparently. Just between the Sound and Waterfall villages, close to what they presume to be the Akatsuki hideout.

But Sakura ignores the conversation, trying to get as much done as she can before clocking out of work for the day. Hopelessly in love with him for years or not, she had just about had enough of the thought of Sasuke Uchiha for today. She left the office in a rush, only wanting to go home.

On her way back to where she wanted to be the most, Yamato stops her and invites her to dinner. "You can refuse," he offers— "but I won't let you."

She sighed in defeat, not wanting to protest. "Fine, but you're paying for me."

"Of course," he replies, leading her to what he had come to know as one of her favorite restaurants.

So she ate. She had one of the best dinners she had in over half a year. Her thoughts strayed from rogue ninjas to friendly teammates. She managed to think of other things, like how to revive her dead flower garden and how to coax Yamato into making a cherry blossom tree grow in her backyard. Her mood lifted and she managed to genuinely smile for her taichou.

Until he pulled out a slip of paper. Yamato hands it to her and braces himself for an angry teenage girl to yell at him.

The yelling doesn't come. Instead, Sakura sits understandingly, reading over the handwriting of her shishou. "So," she begins, "how exactly are you going to accomplish the 'vigilant night watch'?"


End file.
